Clarke County’s community Memorial Day Service will be held on Sunday, May 28, at 2pm in Rose Hill Park in Berryville. The theme of the program will be “Fallen But Not Forgotten: A Tribute in Our Anniversary Year”. 

In addition to the Town of Berryville observing its 225th anniversary, VFW Post 9760 is celebrating its 75th anniversary in 2023. Lieutenant Colonel Jonathan Westbrook, U.S. Army, will deliver the Memorial Day message. Commissioned as an infantry officer in 2003, Jonathan deployed to Iraq between 2004 and 2007 with the 82nd Airborne Division three times and with the 25th Infantry Division (Light) in 2008. He served in strategic positions from 2012 to 2023, including a fifth deployment to Iraq in 2019 to 2020. Jonathan is a recipient of the Airborne Badge, the Expert Infantryman Badge, the Combat Infantryman Badge, the Combat Action Badge, and the Ranger Tab. A member of VFW Post 9760, Lieutenant Colonel Westbrook and his family reside in Clarke County.

American Legion Post 41 Commander Tom Vorisek and VFW Post 9760 Commander Mike Blumenthal will lead the service. The Clarke County High School Band, led by Mark Curry, will provide prelude and postlude selections and the National Anthem. The Clarke County High School Chamber Choir, led by Kristi Snarsky, will perform two songs at the service. Colors will be posted and retired by The James Wood Chapter of the Sons of the American Revolution. The Clarke County Honor Guard, led by Chris Birch, will provide a military salute.

In addition to the Memorial Day Service, members of VFW Post 9760 and American Legion Post 41, and members of Boy Scout Troop 34 will place American flags at veterans’ gravesites at Green Hill Cemetery in Berryville on Saturday, May 27th at 9am. Volunteers will also place flags at Milton Valley Cemetery in Berryville during the Memorial Day weekend. 

In case of inclement weather, the Memorial Day Service will be held in Berryville’s Barns of Rose Hill, a cultural and civic center adjacent to Rose Hill Park. The sponsoring organizations, Clarke County Memorial VFW Post 9760 and American Legion Post 41, invite all attendees to join them at the VFW Post at 425 South Buckmarsh Street in Berryville for free refreshments and fellowship following the ceremony.

For additional information, contact Tom Vorisek, Memorial Day Committee member, at (540)303-0774

Acclaimed violin virtuoso Akemi Takayama will be the featured soloist with the Main Street Chamber Orchestra on Saturday, May 13 at 4pm at Grace Episcopal Church in Berryville. The concert includes works by Beethoven, Mozart, and CPE Bach. 

Dr. Takayama will perform Mozart’s delightful Violin Concerto #5, “The Turkish”, so called due to the Turkish musical elements woven into its fourth movement. Mozart likely wrote this concerto for his own performance as it is full of virtuoso passages. 

Dr. Takayama, a founding member of the Main Street Chamber Orchestra (MSCO), is one of the most sought-after freelance musicians in the Mid Atlantic. In addition to her position as Associate Professor of Violin at Shenandoah Conservatory, where she holds the Victor Brown Endowed Chair in Violin, she is concertmaster of the Roanoke Symphony Orchestra and the Williamsburg Symphony Orchestra. 

The second half of the May 13 concert is devoted to Beethoven’s jubilant Symphony No. 2. The composer Hector Berlioz said, “Everywhere in this piece, Beethoven smiles.” This is amazing when considering it was written when the composer was considering suicide over his deteriorating hearing. While there are a few dark clouds, Beethoven is here at his most optimistic, even including a few musical jokes.

The concert will open with Carl Philipp Emanual Bach’s Symphony No. 1. A son of J. S. Bach, CPE is known as the “Berlin” Bach for his years spent in that city. CPE was an early adopter of the new “sturm und drang” style that stressed wide extremes of emotion. The work will showcase the superb skills of the MSCO string musicians as they take on the storms. 

Tickets are on sale on our website, mainstreetchamberorchestra.org. Students under 18 are free. The MSCO is pleased to introduce to the community its recently established board of directors. Jon Goldberg serves as president and music director; the Very Reverend Justin Ivatts, treasurer; Helena Goldberg, secretary; and Diana Kincannon, Dr. Donovan Stokes, and Lawrence Goldstein.

Representatives from the State Arboretum of Virginia at Blandy Experimental Farm have named the Allegheny serviceberry (Amelanchier laevis) as the 2023 Tree of the Year. The Arboretum’s 2023 Tree of the Year was selected after deliberation by Curator T’ai Roulston and Blandy arborists. Since 2019, the State Arboretum of Virginia has designated one extraordinary species of tree as its Tree of the Year.

In honor of Arbor Day, “the nation’s tree planting holiday,” Blandy arborists and representatives from the Department of Forestry will plant an Allegheny Serviceberry tree at the Arboretum on Friday, April 28. The tree will be added to a tree and shrub collection that dates to the 1930s.

“A vital part of our mission is to practice and promote tree education, science, and conservation,” said Roulston. “Through research and public programming, we want to share with everyone of all ages how important trees are to the environment.”

Four-season Interest

The Allegheny serviceberry, found native in Virginia, was chosen for its four-season interest, according to Roulston. A small understory tree, it’s ideal for landscapes and grows to only 15-25 feet tall.

The Allegheny serviceberry is one of the first trees at the arboretum to flower each spring when the delicate masses of white, fragrant flowers appear in mid April. Small, dark purple berry-like fruit arrives in the summer. Also commonly known as juneberries, the edible berries attract pollinators and are a food source for native bees and more than 40 species of birds.

The fall foliage of the Allegheny serviceberry, when the leaves turn an orange-red color, is outstanding as well. The tree’s attractive gray bark lends structure to the winter garden.

Juneberries Serves as Food Source for Wildlife, Humans

Native Americans would dry juneberries, similar in size and taste to blueberries, and mix them with meat to create a high-energy snack called pemmican. Recipes for juneberry pies and jams are easy to find. If you want to eat the berries, though, you’d better be fast. Birds, squirrels, and other wildlife also enjoy the fruit.

How the Allegheny Serviceberry Gets Its Name

For settlers in the colder climates of North America, the blooming of the serviceberry was a sign that the ground was thawing. Graves could now be dug for loved ones who had died during the cold winter months and burial “services” could commence.

In some areas, the serviceberry is called shadbush or shadblow. The tree got this name because it blooms around the same time that shad return to their spawning grounds in freshwater rivers and streams. Common names also include smooth shadbush, juneberry and shadberry.

This is Blandy’s fifth pick for Tree of the Year. Past Trees of the Year include:

2022: American Sycamore (Platanus occidentalis) 

2021: Pawpaw (Asimina triloba)

2020: Sassafras (Sassafras albidum)

2019: Eastern Redbud (Cercis canadensis)

The State Arboretum of Virginia is home to more than 6,000 woody trees and shrubs, including a unique 300-tree ginkgo grove and a 36-tree Cedar of Lebanon allée. The Arboretum staff and many volunteers help to thoughtfully grow the collection each year by planting new and replacement trees.The Arboretum is part of Blandy Experimental Farm, a research field station for the University of Virginia’s Department of Environmental Sciences. Blandy Experimental Farm is on Route 50 in Clarke County, about 10 miles east of Winchester and 20 miles west of Middleburg. Directions and a calendar of events are online at blandy.virginia.edu.

November 6, 1954 – April 4, 2023

Paul Neil Wilson, 68, of Boyce Virginia, passed away Tuesday, April 4th at the Blue Ridge Hospice Inpatient Care Center in Winchester, Virginia, after a brief and valiant fight against cancer.

Paul was born November 6, 1954, in Indianapolis, Indiana. He is survived by his wife of 37 years, Karyn Treble Wilson, his mother Barbara Wilson of Ashburn, Va., brothers Daniel Wilson (Elizabeth)) of Sewickley, Penna., and Ben Wilson of Denver, Colo., and many nieces and nephews who cherished their Uncle Paul. His father Lee Wilson
predeceased him.

Paul grew up in Corning, New York. He was a proud graduate of Virginia Tech University, where he earned his BS in Finance and Economics. Paul began his career in finance with Corning Inc., in Raleigh, North Carolina, where he advanced to management, overseeing the manufacture of resistors and capacitors. He ultimately made a successful career change into the sale of electronic hardware while continuing at Corning. Paul completed his career in the Washington, D.C., area working with companies focused on defense and the space program.

Family and friendship were at the core of Paul’s life, and he found his true partner in Karyn. After dating for six years, they married in 1985 and made their home in Fairfax. Longing for space in the countryside, they purchased a farm in Purcellville in 1999 and operated a thriving equestrian business. Paul was an avid fox hunter and a Master of Fox Hounds (MFH) for both the Fairfax Hunt in 2003 and the Loudoun Fairfax Hunt following a merger in 2011. After Paul retired as MFH in 2019, he and Karyn moved west to Boyce where they joined the Blue Ridge Hunt in 2020. They purchased their dream farm in prime hunt country in 2022.

Paul possessed a deep affinity for music. He was an accomplished guitarist. In his teenage years, he played guitar for the rock band Dakota in Corning from 1970 to 1974. The band quickly gained popularity with an extensive touring schedule that included playing as a back-up band for Blue Oyster Cult. Paul found refuge in music and played his guitar daily. He was often seen happily driving through the Virginia countryside in his 2017 Grand Sport Corvette, with his favorite music playing.

Paul never met a stranger, and his warm, affable demeanor made all who were fortunate enough to be around him feel as they were the most important person in the world. He delighted in his friendships, never took
himself too seriously, and was always a light in dark places for so many. His loss is enormous for those who knew him, but what joy there is in having had the privilege.

A memorial service will be held on Friday May 5 at 11am at Christ Church, 809 Bishop Meade Road, Millwood, Va., followed by a hunt country tailgate reception at their farm in Boyce. In lieu of flowers, the family has requested donations to Blue Ridge Hospice at brhhospice.org.